1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to water safety gear, particularly life vests equipped with breathing apparatus.
2. Background Art
Participants in white water rafting, canoeing or kayaking face the risk of capsizing or being thrown overboard into rapid, turbulent water, sometimes followed by severe buffeting against rocks and logs, thereby incurring bodily injuries and even drowning. Prior to my invention, the principal safeguard against such dangers has been a buoyant, safety life vest worn about the torso of each participant. The life vest ordinarily provided sufficient flotation to maintain the nose and mouth of an overboard participant above water until he could be rescued. It was wholly inadequate, however, whenever he become trapped underwater--underneath a log jam or in an overturned kayak, for example--in which event he could be drowned before rescuers could find him and bring him up for air. What is required to safeguard against such a mishap in addition to a life vest is a rapidly deployable air supply for breathing underwater long enough for a rescue operation to be completed. Such an air supply apparatus, which according to the present invention comprises one or more compressed air tanks with associated regulator valves and air tubing, should be capable of withstanding the significant stresses and impulse forces to which it may be subjected in a white water environment.
Drager et al., U.S. Pat. No. 1,878,474, disclosed an annular, hollow breathing bag made of a water-proof elastic or flexible material and constructed to fit snugly against the shoulders, back and chest of the wearer. A breathing hose having one end connected to a sodium peroxide cartridge inside the bag, and an opposite end connected to a mouthpeice, conducted exhaled breath to the bag and inhaled, oxygen-laden air to the wearer's mouth. This arrangement, intended for occupants of sunken submarine boats or diving bells, was unsuitable for whitewater conditions as it provided inadequate buoyancy and left the cartridge subject to damage by impact with rocks and other objects.
Courtney, U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,233, disclosed a vest style bouyancy compensator adapted to carry a rescue raft and to be worn by a diver carrying a standard scuba tank. No provision was made for protecting the tank and associated regulator valve from damage in white water conditions.
Fast, U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,348, disclosed a back pack assembly for a diver for use with a compressed air scuba tank and equipped with flexible bladders that automatically inflated at greater depths and disinflated at lesser depths. The back pack included a two-peice housing fitted together to encompass the scuba tank. Although the back pack could provide some protection from damage to the tank and attached regulator valve, the assembly was unnecessarily complex and bulky for white water conditions.
Courtney, U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,554, disclosed a back pack, for use with an inflatable air vest, having a rigid housing that enclosed a compressed air tank, and equipped with an inflatable buoyancy compensator for use in deep sea diving. This too was unnecessarily complex and bulky for white water conditions.
Hart, U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,521, disclosed an air system for scuba diving that included an inflatable buoyancy jacket and scuba breathing gear, including a compressed air tank. In an emergency, the compressed air tank could be jettisoned, and the diver could breathe the air in the inflated jacket through a mouthpeice. No provision was made for protecting the scuba breathing gear from damage in white water conditions.
There remains a need, therefore, for an air supply vest that will provide both adequate buoyancy and a rapidly deployable supply of air to a boating accident victim, wherein the air supply is secure from mechanical damage under white water conditions.